DOHUK, Iraq — American military forces bombed at least two targets in northern Iraq on Thursday night to rout Islamist insurgents who have trapped tens of thousands of religious minorities in Kurdish areas, Kurdish officials said.

Word of the bombings, reported on Kurdish television from the city of Erbil, came as President Obama was preparing to make a statement in Washington.

Kurdish officials said the bombings targeted fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria who had seized two towns, Gwer and Mahmour. Residents who had fled those areas by car were heard honking their horns in approval. But Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said on Twitter that the reports of a U.S. airstrike were false.

Obama administration officials had said earlier in the day that Mr. Obama was considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis among as many as 40,000 members of religious minorities in Iraq, who have been dying of heat and thirst on a mountaintop where they took shelter after death threats from ISIS.

Now is the time to move and strike ISIS. The humanitarian air drops in Iraq to provide water and food to the 40,000 or so religious minorities stranded on a mountaintop is complete.

The US has to hit every truck and (American) Humvee on the roads leading to the mountaintop. Anything short of that would be unconscionable conduct of our part. ISIS has the north side surrounded leading to the mountaintop.

And for the love of God, help the Kurdish Peshmerga in every way we can - The Kurdistan Regional Government helped our troops throughout the Iraqi war.

The Kurdish state would be a permanent base for American and Israeli influence on Iran's border. Why Obama waited this long baffles the mind.

Now is the time to move and strike ISIS. The humanitarian air drops in Iraq to provide water and food to the 40,000 or so religious minorities stranded on a mountaintop is complete.

The US has to hit every truck and (American) Humvee on the roads leading to the mountaintop. Anything short of that would be unconscionable conduct of our part. ISIS has the north side surrounded leading to the mountaintop.

And for the love of God, help the Kurdish Peshmerga in every way we can - The Kurdistan Regional Government helped our troops throughout the Iraqi war.

The Kurdish state would be a permanent base for American and Israeli influence on Iran's border. Why Obama waited this long baffles the mind.

Obama is always leading from behind. This is no different. He waited forever to do anything when the story was fresh and would have generated some backlash if he'd made a strong leadership move, like air strikes or some kind of limited direct action against these militants. By this point the course of action is so obvious that it's zero-risk politically.

It is clear that that at some point the US will have to fight ISIS. The group, which largely consists of foreign fighters, includes Americans and Europeans. It relies on the sword – 'must prevail across the world.' Turkey has paved the way.

Make no mistake, al-Baghdadi has warned the US that we are in his master plan.

Al-Baghdadi’s proclamation of a caliphate and a caliph is a monumental act in itself.

I am looking forward to al-Baghdadi’s response via video in the next couple of days.

The answer you are looking for is Turkey. Turkey does not want a Kurdish state. Neither does Iran for that matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GloucesterChief

The answer you are looking for is Turkey. Turkey does not want a Kurdish state. Neither does Iran for that matter.

Syrian Kurdish militants of the PYD’s military wing, the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) have joined forces.

Iraq's KRG is working with Turkey through a newly oil pipeline - Crude oil have left Turkey on tankers to be sold to foreign buyers.

Iraq with US backing warned foreign buyers the crude oil was taken from Iraq without permission. Since ISIS fighters seized control of Iraq's dam, and oil field - Turkey have been accused of commercializing the oil illegally drilled by ISIS.

It is clear that that at some point the US will have to fight ISIS. The group, which largely consists of foreign fighters, includes Americans and Europeans. It relies on the sword – 'must prevail across the world.' Turkey has paved the way.

Make no mistake, al-Baghdadi has warned the US that we are in his master plan.

Al-Baghdadi’s proclamation of a caliphate and a caliph is a monumental act in itself.

I am looking forward to al-Baghdadi’s response via video in the next couple of days.

I share your view that at a point in near future these people must be put down. US cannot do it alone. But I see few leaders willing to enter a fight with Obama at their side. He has shown he cannot be trusted. He is weak. And he has no resolve. This is the opening radical Islam needs and they know it. If they threaten other mulim countries enough they may act. This is the harvest from Obamas Arab Spring support for the Brotherhood.

__________________
Frazod to KC Nitwit..."Hey, I saw a picture of some dumpy bitch with a horrible ****tarded giant back tattoo and couldn't help but think of you." Simple, Pure, Perfect. 7/31/2013

Dave Lane: "I have donated more money to people in my life as an atheist that most churches ever will."

Now is the time to move and strike ISIS. The humanitarian air drops in Iraq to provide water and food to the 40,000 or so religious minorities stranded on a mountaintop is complete.

The US has to hit every truck and (American) Humvee on the roads leading to the mountaintop. Anything short of that would be unconscionable conduct of our part. ISIS has the north side surrounded leading to the mountaintop.

And for the love of God, help the Kurdish Peshmerga in every way we can - The Kurdistan Regional Government helped our troops throughout the Iraqi war.

The Kurdish state would be a permanent base for American and Israeli influence on Iran's border. Why Obama waited this long baffles the mind.

It doesn't baffle me I think he's a muslim in disguise. Have you noticed how he has treated Israel since he's been in office?l

Washington (CNN) -- Two U.S. F/A-18 jet fighters bombed artillery batteries of Sunni Islamic extremists in Iraq on Friday, escalating America's military involvement more than two years after President Barack Obama brought home forces from the country.

Obama authorized "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. personnel from fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The U.S. military also could use airstrikes to prevent what officials warn could be a genocide of minority groups by the Islamic State fighters.

The U.S. aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a "mobile artillery piece" used by ISIS at about 6:45 a.m. ET Friday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said. The commander of U.S. Central Command made the decision to strike under authorization granted him by Obama, Kirby said.

The Islamic State has advanced toward what officials call U.S. interests in Iraq's Kurdish region in the north this week, taking towns from the Kurdish fighting force, known as the Peshmerga.

Before the Islamic State's onslaught, the region had been the most stable in Iraq and a cooperative ally of the United States. U.S. military advisers and consular personnel are stationed in the Kurdish capital, Irbil.

In announcing his decision Thursday night, Obama said he has directed the military to strike the militants "should they move towards the city."

Kurdish leaders have been pleading for the United States or NATO to buttress their forces against the Islamic State from the air. The President seems to have heard their appeal.

"We do whatever is necessary to protect our people," Obama said, adding, "We support our allies when they're in danger."

Obama: Potential 'genocide'

U.S. airstrikes could also hit the Islamic State if militants continue to endanger the lives of thousands of ethnic Yazidis stranded in mountains by the militants' siege.

The President and other administration officials are using the term "genocide" when referring to the situation and is already sending supplies to help the Yazidis.

Militants raided the Yazidi town of Sinjar in northern Iraq over the weekend.

Yazidis are among Iraq's smallest minorities. They are of Kurdish descent, and their religion is considered a pre-Islamic sect that draws from Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

Islamic State has executed people who don't share their fanatical interpretation of Sunni Islam and posted videos of their killings to the Internet. "Convert to Islam or die" is the Islamic State's ultimatum given to those captured.

They have also beheaded victims and placed their heads on spikes to strike terror in the population, a senior administration official said.

Christians, Shiite Muslims and Yazidis have fled from the militants' blood-paved path.

Multitudes of harried refugees have poured into the Kurdish region and camped in and around Irbil.

Until Thursday they were without food and water, and some children died of thirst in the Iraqi summer heat.

Before the President's address, two U.S. military cargo planes airdropped 5,300 gallons of water and 8,000 meals onto Mount Sinjar.

U.S. forces are standing by with plenty more food and water, a senior administration official said.

Possible strike to break siege

If militants continue to surround the mountain, they may have to reckon with U.S. intervention from the air.

"When we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then I believe the United States of America cannot turn a blind eye," Obama said. "We can act, carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday repeated the administration's concerns about genocide.

The Islamic State's "campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide," Kerry said Friday during a televised press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan. "The stakes for Iraq's future could not be more clear," and "for anyone who (needs) a wake-up call, this is it."

Fear of U.S. ground troops

Obama brought home American forces from Iraq more than two years ago, and on Thursday, he addressed American concerns about boots on the ground there.

"As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq," Obama said.

The administration has put the onus on the Iraqi government, which it has pushed to reform.

Already, the Obama administration is rapidly funneling weapons to Iraqi forces. Factories in the United States are operating seven days a week to produce them, a senior administration official said.

But two Republican senators said in a statement that the President's actions do not go far enough. And the United States should not wait on Iraq to pull together before Washington takes action.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina want to see U.S. forces take the fight to the Islamic State.

"It should include U.S. airstrikes against ISIS leaders, forces, and positions both in Iraq and Syria," their statement read.

Iraqi forces fight back

The Iraqi air force bombed a number of Islamic State targets Thursday night, Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdish regional government, told CNN. The strikes killed at least two of the group's emirs, he said.

The United States has been sharing intelligence through reconnaissance but is not involved in any airstrikes, a senior Iraqi military official told CNN on Thursday.

Americans "almost consistently" have manned or unmanned observation aircraft over Irbil, a senior administration official said.

The United States has 245 military personnel in Iraq, 90 of whom are advisers. The carrier USS George H.W. Bush and other Navy ships also are in the region.

The Islamic State fighters have captured armored vehicles and other military hardware from Iraqi forces in a lightning sweep through the north earlier this year.

The militant group's name, Islamic State, reflects its goal to establish a Sunni caliphate stretching from Syria to Baghdad.

After establishing the religious state, the group envisions expanding it throughout the world.

__________________I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?